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Mrs. Edwards vs. Sen. Clinton
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ShareJuly 17, 2007 5:25 PM
ABC News Raelyn Johnson and Jennifer Parker report: The Edwards campaign defended Elizabeth Edwards Tuesday, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards, for comments she made criticizing Sen. Hillary Clinton, D, N.Y.
Mrs. Edwards set off an online media frenzy when she criticized Clinton during an interview with Salon.com --the entirety of which can be viewed here. Mrs. Edwards argued her husband would be a better advocate for women than Clinton, and criticized Clinton's campaign pitch that women should vote for her because she could be the first woman president.
"Elizabeth believes that John Edwards is the best candidate, and will be the best president, for women who care about health care and a range of other important issues," Mark Kornblau, national press secretary for the Edwards campaign told ABC News Tuesday.
The campaign was responding to comments Mrs. Edwards made after Salon reporter, Joan Walsh, asked Mrs. Edwards if she feels guilty running against "the first credible woman candidates and the first credible African-American candidate."
"Look, I'm sympathetic, because when I worked as a lawyer, I was the only woman in these rooms, too, and you want to reassure them you're as good as a man. And sometimes you feel you have to behave as a man and not talk about women's issues," Mrs. Edwards told Salon.com.
"I'm sympathetic -- she wants to be commander in chief. But she's just not as vocal a women's advocate as I want to see. John is. And then she says, or maybe her supporters say, 'Support me because I'm a woman,' and I want to say to her, 'Well, then support me because I'm a woman,'" Mrs. Edwards said in the Salon.com interview.
Mrs. Edwards' comments were picked up by the Drudge.com website, under the banner headline: "Gender Bender: Wife Edwards Says Hillary 'Behaving Like a Man."
Salon reporter Joan Walsh later responded to Drudge, posting a story arguing Edwards "didn't call Hillary Clinton a man."
However, Mrs. Edwards criticized Clinton in the Salon interview for her campaign's effort to target women specifically for support and votes.
"It bothers me that the pitch is made, as it is, that there's an obligation of people to give support (to Clinton)," Mrs. Edwards told Salon.com. "One of the things that make me so completely comfortable with this is that keeping that door open to women is actually more a policy of John's than Hillary's," she said.
Mrs. Edwards continued: "On the issues that are important to women, she has not ... she describes some cost-saving things, which John also supports, but she acts like that's going to make healthcare affordable to everyone," said Edwards. "And she knows it won't. She's not really talking about poverty, when the face of poverty is a woman's face, often a single mother. She gave that speech on abortion a few years ago [saying abortion should be "safe, legal and rare"]."
Edwards told Walsh she's "not convinced" Clinton would be as good an advocate for women as her husband.
"She needs a rationale greater for her campaign than I've heard. When she announced her candidacy she said, 'I'm in it to win it.' What is that? That's not a rationale," Edwards told Salon.
Mrs. Edwards also said her husband would be a better president than Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
"Same with Senator Obama -- I've yet to hear a rationale," Mrs. Edwards told Salon.com. "John is extremely clear about what he can accomplish and why he's the one to do it."
July 17, 2007 in Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (3)
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Mrs Edwards is prettier than Hilary Clinton. That's why, I'll vote for Edwards instead of Clinton.
Posted by: marc | Jul 18, 2007 12:50:04 AM
On the real issue, though, for her to think that her husband would be a better advocate for women's issues than Hillary Clinton is absurd. If he's such a good advocate, why hasn't he accomplished anything?
Posted by: Bob | Jul 18, 2007 9:49:37 AM
Quite ironic that Mrs. Edwards is accusing Hillary of being too masculine, the very trait that her husband lacks according to his detractors. If Mrs. Edwards was not living in a campaign bubble she would realize that masculinity is as essential to American elections as apple pie. Further irony too is that she is overshadowing her husband and further emasculating him with her fiesty fight for your man performances. She has that Lady Macbeth in a very velvet glove act down beautifullly. She would probably make a better candidate than her husband who just can't get past his Breck Girl label. I know they are desperately trying to get traction and attention, the Edward's campaign is slowly loosing altitude day by day, to have to resort to hitting out at Hillary is, well, a little desperate. I'd dare say, Hillary's cool masculine demeanor does not seem to have hurt one bit. Edward could use a bit of it.
Posted by: exo | Jul 18, 2007 10:38:11 AM
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